Today we review a report from a Committee of the British House of Commons calling for action both in the short and long term (2030) to improve air quality – its 3rd report on this issue in the last 5 years. In 92% of the Air Quality Management Areas, road transport is the main cause of that pollution, so that recommendations call for more efficient vehicles and fewer diesel powered ones and more Low Emission Zones. The Committee recognizes the powerful lobbies (such as automobile associations and oil/gas industry) against progress – as it is, if not more so in Canada and the USA – but pleads that the UK government should not wait to be ordered by the EU parliament to act.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

Today we review research into the ways that the drugs taken to reduce cholesterol interact with C-reactive protein to reduce the inflammation that normally is caused by exposure to fine particulate matter. This is important since 1 in 4 adults over 45 take statins (including Lipitor, Zocor and other brand names) and over 800,000 deaths world-wide are caused by fine particles.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

Today we review a report on the future likely for the globe’s urban areas in terms of growth, their increasing share of the world economy, population and greenhouse gas emissions. A “Three C” model is proposed that shows the advantages of cities adopting compact urban growth, connected infrastructure and coordinated governance that already has shown itself in cities such as Stockholm which has seen a 41% economic increase while reducing carbon emissions by 35% over the last 7 years.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

Today we review a report from a Canadian policy think-tank which examines the potential for legal action against a handful of Canadian oil and gas producers, because of their contribution to harmful impacts from global climate change, expected to reach $5B/year by 2020. The potential liability of each Canadian company is between $37.8 million and$90.8 million in 2010, rising to over $700M by 2030. Just as it took about 30 years to collect from tobacco companies for harmful impacts to health from the time a warning was given by the Surgeon General of the USA in the late 1960s, so the clock is ticking for those responsible for damages from climate change- and the clock began ticking in 1988 at the Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere, the first major international forum bringing scientists and politicians together in an effort to combat global warming, where 300 international scientists and policy makers from 46 countries issued a warning on climate change whose consequences “could be second only to a global nuclear war”.

Since then, two major factors have changed in terms of environmental liability: much more accurate estimates of financial damages and of emissions have been documented, and the law profession itself has matured and broadened to include the environment as an active and growing area of jurisprudence. In addition, as the report points out, even if the existing body of law does not explicitly identify GHG emissions as a culpable area, courts have been willing to change the law and liability in light of new information, as seen in the tobacco cases. Whether that liability starts and ends with oil and gas producers or extends to those responsible for reducing damages from climate change and the emissions that cause them- such as large municipalities which control traffic and vehicle emissions, public infrastructure and protection of private property from environmental damages, for example, remains to be seen. And then there is the growing awareness of the impacts of climate change which combines with air pollution to increase health costs.

Today we review research into the link between air pollution and chronic kidney disease or CKD. Results indicate higher prevalence of the disease with particulate (PM2.5) readings as low as 8.4 μg/m3, much lower than the expected threshold of 40 μg/m3 for elderly patients. Higher incidence of CKD may be expected in countries or regions with higher air pollution levels than where this research was conducted in counties across the USA.

Today we review a background overview paper prepared by one of the world’s leading advocates for sustainable transportation, Todd Litman, at a United Nations conference aimed at developing best practices in Asia where major shifts to urbanization are taking place. His paper includes many tips and statistics such as better traffic congestion indicators and space requirements for various modes, the advantages of transportation demand management strategies, especially when different ones are combined.

To seeks to Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE

Today we review plans by the Chinese government to both monitor and reduce the extremely high levels of air pollution found in its largest cities, a large portion of which is due to vehicle emissions. Plans have been approved to achieve particulate emissions by as much as 25% by 2017 by monitoring emissions and using technology to regulate them and by managing transport demand using congestion pricing and other economic tools. Equally impressive plans are in place to cap carbon emissions from coal by 2020. Credit must be given to governments that recognize the impact of unrestricted deterioration of urban air quality on health and then proceed to establish short and longer term targets to improve this. When will Canadian and American governments (and City Councils) do likewise for their cities or do we wait until conditions get as bad as in China?